Abstract:
This proposal is focused on experimental studies of the thunderstorms electrodynamic coupling to the Earth's radiation belts through the upward lightning flashes that lead to ionospheric parameters variability, and the global lightning effects on climate. The intellectual merit of the proposed program lies in the importance of the electrodynamic coupling of lightning discharges to the overlying ... ionosphere and the radiation belts, both in terms of lightning-induced electron precipitation, and in terms of high altitude optical and gamma-ray emissions produced by energy originating in lightning discharges. Precipitation of the radiation belt particles by whistler waves launched by lightning discharges will be measured as associated localized and transient disturbances of the lower ionosphere, which are sensed remotely by means of their effect on the phase and amplitude of very low frequency (VLF) signals propagating in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide.

The broader impacts of the proposed research program will include the development of new technologies of lightning detection, with few observation sites and on a global scale, which can then be implemented for the benefit of society, both in terms of agriculture, navigation and other ways in which lightning and thunderstorms may affect human life. The proposed program is a part of the international collaboration between the Antarctic Peninsula stations, as well as complements a similar set of measurements that are conducted by the Stanford University in the northern hemisphere under support from other sources. Coordinated measurements in both hemispheres are needed to study the geomagnetic conjugacy of the observed phenomena.